The Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.

Antony Beevor

Antony Beevor is one of Britain's leading historians, winning numerous awards and has been translated into twenty-nine different languages. He studied at Winchester College where one of his tutors was the famous historian John Keegan. Before becoming a full-time writer, Beevor served as an officer with the 11th Hussars and as an account executive with the advertising firm Masius Wynne Williams.

His history books have been hugely successful and are often used themselves as sources in other historical texts. Beevor is often praised for his focus on the ordinary lives of both combatants and civilians in war environments.